Southampton to London post-cruise with luggage

[SophieM]

We’ll be going into London at the end of our cruise in late August and are considering either the train or the National Express bus. If you have experience with either, I’d appreciate hearing your thoughts. 
 

Thanks very much!

[basenji56]

Also, does Oceania sell a transfer from the cruise into London? 

[Techno123]

1 hour ago, SophieM said:

We’ll be going into London at the end of our cruise in late August and are considering either the train or the National Express bus. If you have experience with either, I’d appreciate hearing your thoughts. 
 

Thanks very much!

We are having problems with the train drivers striking - sometime we get a lot of notice and sometimes not 😢. National express would probably be more reliable the drop offs are 

Our 032 service travels up to 16 times a day and calls at the following stops:

• Southampton Coach Station
• University of Southampton
• Winchester Park & Ride
• Basingstoke
• London (Hammersmith)
• London (Earl's Court)
• London Victoria Coach Station

Edited June 7 by Techno123

[SophieM]

Thank you!

[SophieM]

18 minutes ago, basenji56 said:

Also, does Oceania sell a transfer from the cruise into London? 

They may, but we have always found their transfer options to be exorbitantly high. 

[osandomir]

3 hours ago, basenji56 said:

Also, does Oceania sell a transfer from the cruise into London? 

Oceania sell transfers to airports but not into London. I don’t remember the prices. We used Uber from central London hotel to Southampton cruise terminal and the price varied between £140 and £220 depending on the day and time in April. On Monday morning it was on the high end of this range.

[ORV]

I'm pretty sure one of the car services would be better than this. Maybe Blacklane or another there. Check the Ports of Call, which I'm sure you probably have. 

[osandomir]

1 hour ago, ORV said:

I'm pretty sure one of the car services would be better than this. Maybe Blacklane or another there. Check the Ports of Call, which I'm sure you probably have. 

We checked Blacklane and some others. They all were more on the day we were there.

[BarbaraM]

We used the National bus from Heathrow to ship last year— the bus was delayed leaving by 30 minutes, it was October 80+ degreees, no AC— and the fan stopped working every time the bus stopped. It took a long time due to all the stops. Will book a car service next time!

Edited June 8 by BarbaraM

[ORV]

2 hours ago, BarbaraM said:

We used the National bus from Heathrow to ship last year— the bus was delayed leaving by 30 minutes, it was October 80+ degreees, no AC— and the fan stopped working every time the bus stopped. It took a long time due to all the stops. Will book a car service next time!

Definitely not a good endorsement for the National Bus option. 

[Techno123]

2 hours ago, BarbaraM said:

We used the National bus from Heathrow to ship last year— the bus was delayed leaving by 30 minutes, it was October 80+ degreees, no AC— and the fan stopped working every time the bus stopped. It took a long time due to all the stops. Will book a car service next time!

You can't possibly have been in the UK if it was that temperature in October 😜😜

 

@SophieM if the drivers aren't on strike 😜 looks like the train goes from Southampton Central to Waterloo and is about £12 each, one way. Takes 1 hour and 18mins and no changes (although will depend on the day and service you take) I find National Rail Enquiries very useful.  https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/journey-planner

 

Edited June 8 by Techno123

[Harters]

48 minutes ago, Techno123 said:

You can't possibly have been in the UK if it was that temperature in October

And wouldnt you just love to have that sort of warmth in June. As it is, temps this afternoon in North Cheshire are in the mid teens. I needed to wear a jacket earlier while pottering round the garden. And the central heating keeps clicking on. 

[BarbaraM]

4 hours ago, Techno123 said:

You can't possibly have been in the UK if it was that temperature in October 😜😜

 

Oops ! My mistake— it was mid September  and—it was just 79.  Much hotter in the bus tho!

 

[Techno123]

3 hours ago, Harters said:

And wouldnt you just love to have that sort of warmth in June. As it is, temps this afternoon in North Cheshire are in the mid teens. I needed to wear a jacket earlier while pottering round the garden. And the central heating keeps clicking on. 

Mine has gone off - I don't care that it is freezing and my husbands toes have turned blue it's June 😂😂

[basenji56]

23 hours ago, Techno123 said:

You can't possibly have been in the UK if it was that temperature in October 😜😜

 

@SophieM if the drivers aren't on strike 😜 looks like the train goes from Southampton Central to Waterloo and is about £12 each, one way. Takes 1 hour and 18mins and no changes (although will depend on the day and service you take) I find National Rail Enquiries very useful.  https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/journey-planner

 

What is the luggage situation when traveling first class on National Rail?  

[Techno123]

Sorry, I'm not sure. We only ever travel with hand luggage which goes under the table

[Harters]

1 hour ago, basenji56 said:

What is the luggage situation when traveling first class on National Rail?  

I only travel  with Avanti West Coast. Their luggage policy is here:

https://www.avantiwestcoast.co.uk/travel-information/onboard/luggage

 

Other operators may have different. 

[Aggravation]

1 hour ago, basenji56 said:

What is the luggage situation when traveling first class on National Rail?  

Just did this last month - we were on a 30 day trip with multiple climates so had more luggage than normal - including 2 - 28” roller bags and a carry on.  There are only overhead racks on the trains and we knew the large cases wouldn’t fit - prompting us to book 1st class tickets.  The accommodations aren’t noticeably different but we thought the few extra dollars might keep the occupancy down.  The train was packed - except for 1st class.  We were able to leave our large cases in the aisle - a necessary nuisance - but quite acceptable to the conductor who apologized for lack of proper space.  Booking in advance made the cost far lower than a car service and the convenience was amazing.  Our London hotel was on the Strand so a 3- minute train from Waterloo Station to Charing Cross, and we were in our hotel in less time than finding a cab would take.  

[basenji56]

1 hour ago, Aggravation said:

Just did this last month - we were on a 30 day trip with multiple climates so had more luggage than normal - including 2 - 28” roller bags and a carry on.  There are only overhead racks on the trains and we knew the large cases wouldn’t fit - prompting us to book 1st class tickets.  The accommodations aren’t noticeably different but we thought the few extra dollars might keep the occupancy down.  The train was packed - except for 1st class.  We were able to leave our large cases in the aisle - a necessary nuisance - but quite acceptable to the conductor who apologized for lack of proper space.  Booking in advance made the cost far lower than a car service and the convenience was amazing.  Our London hotel was on the Strand so a 3- minute train from Waterloo Station to Charing Cross, and we were in our hotel in less time than finding a cab would take.  

Great information. I will have one large bag and a small carryon. 

[englishteacher702]

I am going from London to Southampton next month, and booked National Express.  I will let you know how that went, but many people recommended it especially with luggage.  I just can't travel with a carry-on size.  

[Iamthesea]

We have done trains all over Europe and the U. K. with large suitcases, plus rolling carry-ons, and backpacks.  Most always book First Class and never had a problem (except for the time we thought that our bags were secure, only to see them rolling down the isle after the train started moving.) 🤣

 

We were in the Wales last month and the whether was perfect!

[SbbquilterUT]

We used the express to LHR after our cruise - that was easy and straight forward.  Depending on where you are going it is easy to travel from LHR into London.